64 THE FOOD CRISIS AND AMERICANISM 



striction being placed upon cotton and sugar. By 

 the same token, Congressmen from the chief wheat 

 producing States, in a position to know better than 

 others agricultural conditions in their respective locali- 

 ties, should have been deferred to in Legislation con- 

 cerning those commodities. Any restriction of cot- 

 ton, wool or food stuffs, is, in my opinion, a mistake. 

 There has never existed a Nation, whose masses were 

 too well clad or surfeited with wholesome food. 



On the other hand, our profiteers look upon the 

 farmers as the largest unorganized class, and, there- 

 fore, furnishing the broadest and richest field for ex- 

 ploitation. These two influences have usually been 

 sufficient to defeat or divert broad, intelligent legisla- 

 tion, helpful to agriculture. Again, Congress has 

 been handicapped by the lack of reliable and accurate 

 information, which should have been furnished by the 

 Federal Department of Agriculture, the Agricultural 

 Departments of our State Universities, and others. 

 The discussions on the floors of Congress over the 

 bill to increase government price of wheat betrays 

 gross ignorance of our agricultural conditions. 



So far as I can learn, all figures, compilations made 

 and conclusions reached by the Department of Agri- 

 culture on these subjects, have their origin in and are 

 based upon the accumulated " guesses "of men in each 

 township or precinct. These men neither survey the 

 land nor measure the grain. As a preliminary esti- 

 mate this may answer, but when all cereals are in the 

 granaries or cribs, our Food Administrator should have 

 positive and accurate knowledge of how much there 

 is of each cereal and where it is located, if he is to 



